P-11: First on the battlefield and at sea (part of 2)

2
The rocket, which laid the foundation for domestic operational-tactical and underwater missile systems, was born as a result of a scientific-engineering experiment.

P-11: First on the battlefield and at sea (part of 2)

Self-propelled rocket launcher P-11M at the November parade in Moscow. Photos from http://military.tomsk.ru



Even before the end of the P-11 tests, several events occurred that predetermined the further fate of this rocket. First, 11 on April 1955 of the year, Viktor Makeev, by order of the Minister of Arms Dmitry Ustinov, was appointed deputy chief designer of the OKB-1 Sergey Korolev and at the same time the chief designer of SKB-385 at the Zlatoust plant No. XXUMX. That was the beginning of the future of the Main Rocket Center, which eventually received the name of its creator.

Secondly, in January 1954 of the year the design began, and on August 26 the government issued a decree on the development of the Р-11М - carrier of the RDS-4 nuclear weapon. It almost immediately turned a not very obedient and expensive toy into weaponable to radically change the balance of power on the western borders, first the USSR, and then the entire Warsaw Pact.

And thirdly, 26 of January issued a joint resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On carrying out design and experimental work on arming submarines with long-range ballistic missiles and developing a technical design of a large submarine with jet armament on the basis of these works." 11 February, the development of the R-11FM rocket began, and six months later, on September 16, the world's first successful launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine was made in the White Sea.

P-11 in reserve of the High Command

As was customary in the Soviet armed forces, the formation of the first units that were to adopt the new missile system began shortly before the end of the P-11 tests. In May, 1955 of the year according to the directive of the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Army No. 3 / 464128, 233, the engineering brigade — the former high-power artillery brigade of the Voronezh Military District — changed its staff. Three separate divisions were formed in it, each of which received its own number and its own battle flag, becoming an independent military unit.


Winter practical exercises for calculating the R-11M self-propelled rocket launcher. Photos from http://military.tomsk.ru

Thus, the traditional staff of engineering (later - rocket) brigades of the reserve of the High Command was formed. As a rule, each brigade consisted of three — sometimes, as an exception, two or four — separate engineering, and later missile, divisions. And in each separate division, there were three starting batteries, a control battery, a technical and a park battery, and besides them, other units that provided part activity.

In practice, such an organization of the service turned out to be extremely cumbersome and inconvenient, although it turned out not immediately. 27 June 1956, one of the 233 batteries of the engineering brigade, performed first at the Kapustin Yar State Test Site stories parts shot with a new rocket P-11. After more than a year, in September 1957, the 15-th separate engineering division of the 233-th brigade, during the exercises, which were part of the training army offensive operation, launched nine missiles in its arsenal. It was during these exercises that it became clear that in full force, with the entire system of service equipment, the division becomes unwieldy and poorly managed. In the end, this problem was solved due to the fact that the technical and park batteries from the division were removed, leaving only the engineering rocket platoon, and the corresponding units of the brigade took over the main part of the service functions.

Part of the problem of the extreme bulkiness of the missile battalions armed with the P-11 missiles was decided by the appearance of a new modification - the Р-11М, which received, in addition to the traditional fleet with transporters, installers and other service vehicles, and self-propelled tracked chassis. This installation was designed on the basis of the heavy self-propelled artillery installation ISU-152 simultaneously with the development of the Р-11М itself, in 1955-56. The development was carried out by engineers and designers of the Kirov Plant, whose design bureau later created more than one type of similar equipment (in particular, it was the Kirov Plant that developed a self-propelled launcher for the only RT-1 solid-fuel rocket in the history of the OKB-15: read more about this in the material "RT-15: the story of the creation of the first self-propelled ballistic missile of the USSR"). As a result, the number of cars in each separate division was tripled: if in the first versions of the staff list, the total number of cars in the division reached 152, then with self-propelled launchers, each of which replaced several specialized machines at once, their number was reduced to fifty.


Picture of a self-propelled rocket launcher P-11M in combat and field position. Photos from http://militaryrussia.ru

And the P-11 missiles on carts, and intended for use with the P-11M nuclear warheads on self-propelled chassis, have repeatedly and proudly demonstrated to Muscovites and foreign guests at parades in the capital. For the first time, the “eleventh” drove across the Red Square 7 in November 1957 of the year - in the Р-11М variant, and since then until they were removed from service, they remained indispensable participants in Moscow parades in May and November. By the way, the “naval” missiles R-11FM also participated in the parades - with full right, as the first ballistic missiles in the country, adopted by the submarines.

"Eleventh" goes to the naval service

“With the advent of the P-11 rocket on high-boiling components designed for a mobile launch, the practical possibility of developing a modification of a long-range ballistic rocket starting from a submarine appeared,” writes Boris Chertok in his book Rocket and Men. - Sailors treated the new type of weapon compared with the land commanders with great enthusiasm. I already wrote about how skepticism was expressed by many militant generals when comparing the effectiveness of conventional weapons and missiles. Sailors were much more far-sighted. They offered to create a new class of ships - submarines, missile carriers, with unique properties. A submarine armed with torpedoes was intended to attack only enemy ships. A submarine armed with ballistic missiles became capable of striking ground targets from the sea thousands of kilometers away from it, remaining invulnerable.

Korolev liked to develop new ideas and demanded the same love for the new from his associates. But in such an unusual undertaking, first of all, we needed strong allies among Sudak - the shipbuilders.

Ally Korolev was the chief designer of the TsKB-16 Nikolay Nikitovich Isanin. It was an experienced shipbuilder who began to engage in submarines, having gone through the school of building heavy cruisers and battleships. During the war, he was engaged in the most then popular type of ships - torpedo boats. The chief designer of diesel submarines Isanin was just two years before the meeting with the Queen. He boldly set about rebuilding his 611 project for a missile carrier.


Navy transporter with the R-11FM rocket on parade. Photo from http://makeyev.ru

As it was clear to warships that it was impossible to adapt a submarine for firing rockets with a simple upgrade, it was clear to rocketmen that it was impossible to simply take and push the P-11 into a submarine — you need to refine it. That is what had to do, creating a modification of the P-11FM. And this task, Sergey Korolev, despite the fact that he probably would like to do it himself, put a man in his shoulders, of which he was sure - Viktor Makeyev. It is not by chance that only a couple of months passed between the decisions on the start of the development of the P-11FM and the appointment of Makeev to the post of general designer of SKB-386. And it took this time, first of all, to determine the place of refinement and production of the new SKB-385 rocket and its base-plant in Zlatoust. And also to the fact that, at the insistence of the new general, the construction of a new base should be started - in the nearby city of Miass, which had already become famous for that time with its heavy Ural trucks.

However, the construction of a new plant, which, according to Viktor Makeyev, was to be accompanied by the construction of a campus for its employees is not the matter of one year. Therefore, the first series of P-11FM, after the technical documentation for them was transferred to SKB-1955 in the same 385 year, was done in Zlatoust. And from there they were sent to the tests at the Kapustin Yar test site, where during May-July of the 1955, the P-11FM was launched from the unique CM-49 rocking stand, which allowed to simulate rolling, corresponding to 4-point swell at sea.

But no matter how good the swinging stand was, full-scale launches from a real submarine were to become an indispensable stage of testing. Moreover, since October 1954, one of the new 611 B-67 torpedo submarines of the project 10 of May 1952, which was built in Leningrad, has already risen to the extension wall of Plant No. 402 in Molotovsk (now Severodvinsk) under the re-equipment for the project B-611. The letter “B” in this cipher meant “Wave”: under this name appeared the theme of developing missiles for submarines.


The launch of the R-11FM rocket from the CM-49 rocking sea stand at the Kapustin Yar launch site. Photo from http://bastion-karpenko.ru

“The queen wanted the boat to just a little shake”

The fact that from a technical point of view was the first underwater missile system of the Soviet Navy, can be found in "D-1 missile system with a ballistic missile R-11FM". We will give the floor to an eyewitness and a participant in the preparation and the world's first launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine — the first commander of the B-67, while the captain of the second rank, Fyodor Kozlov.

Before being appointed commander of the torpedo submarine B-1954 of project 67 in February 611, captain of the second rank Fedor Kozlov managed to go through a serious naval school. Born in 1922, he began serving in the North navy in 1943, during the war, during the war, he managed to make eight military campaigns. Kozlov received his first “own” torpedo boat in 1951, when he was only 29 years old, and the next was the first missile in his life and throughout the Soviet fleet. In one of his last interviews with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, Fedor Kozlov recalled the events that made him the commander of the country's first missile-carrying submarine:
“At first, the crew wondered why instead of unloaded the second group of batteries, two mines began to be installed in the fourth compartment. They didn't even explain anything to me. I was on vacation when 10 in May 1955 was called to Admiral Vladimirsky in Moscow. Lev Anatolyevich then temporarily performed the duties of deputy commander-in-chief of the Navy in shipbuilding and armament. And on the eve of this conversation, I was told at the Navy Headquarters that the B-67 was being reequipped for testing missiles. Previously, I, and then also 12 sailors and foremen, headed by the commander of the warhead-2-3 (mine-torpedo warhead), senior lieutenant Semen Bondinom were sent to the Kapustin Yar training ground to prepare the missile crew.
<...>


Submarine B-67 in the Barents Sea. Photos from http://militaryrussia.ru

The builders hurried: "Fyodor Ivanovich, raise the flag!". Every day I heard it. But until my officers reported on the elimination of deficiencies, we did not accept the ship. Two weeks spent factory tests. The matter was simplified by the fact that the modernization did not affect a significant part of the ship. And the crew, as I said, was already floated.
<...>

The finished rocket was delivered to us precisely from the technical position of the landfill (Nenoks sea test site, created specifically for testing sea-based ballistic missiles in the 1954 year. - Auth. Note). Everything was done at night, avoiding "extra eyes". The loading was made with an ordinary portal crane. Very hard work. Shone only searchlights crane. It happened on the night of 14 on September 15. ”

After the missile was loaded onto the submarine, another day passed before the B-67 B, with an unusually wide cutting deck for the 611 project, went to sea for the first real rocket launch. Fyodor Kozlov recalls:

“The weather was good. Complete calm, as they say. And the Queen wanted the boat to shake a little. Finally, after lunch, the wind rose. The shooting area was located off the coast, near the village of Nenoks. We decided: we will have time! Immediately, the State Commission Chairman Nikolai Isanin (shipbuilder, author of the B-611 project) and Korolev, as well as industry experts and officers of the sea range, arrived at the ship. We leave to the sea. When the boat was already on the combat course, the boat approached, and Admiral Vladimirsky came on board.


P-11FM missile loading aboard one of the submarines of the AB611 project

Prelaunch rocket training began an hour before approaching the launch point. Raised periscopes. The commanding officer has Korolyov, with whom by that time we have quite a trusting relationship, while I myself look at the zenith. Together with us in the conning tower and Admiral Vladimirsky. And here the launch pad with the rocket rises to the starting position. 30 minute readiness is announced. I, Korolev and his deputy Vladilen Finogeev wear headsets to communicate with the experts preparing the start. The teams in this connection were given by Korolyov, I duplicated them in the broadcast for the crew, and the Start button, which included the start button, pressed Finogeev. The result is as follows: White Sea, 17 hours 32 minutes 16 September 1955, the rocket successfully launched. At the request of Admiral Vladimirsky, I give him a place at the periscope; he observes the rocket flight. And me and Sergey Pavlovich after the start go up to the bridge. What do I remember? The Queen's sweat rolled down his brow. However, when we examined the launch pad and the mine after the start, he said the same thing about me. And sweat ate my eyes. ”


The R-11FM rocket is in the launch position above the felling barrier of the 629 submarine, designed as an underwater bomber. Photos from http://makeyev.ru

Scud: the first, but not the last

And this is how Academician Boris Chertok recalled his participation in one of the subsequent launches of the R-11FM rocket from the B-67 submarine: “The boat departed from the pier early in the morning, and the diving team soon followed. Of course, I was interested in everything, because I could imagine what was going on inside the boat when diving and diving, only from literature. Korolev was already on the boat "his". He immediately went to the conning tower, where he studied the technique of boat control, and looked through the periscope. He did not forget to warn us: "If you climb the ship, don't break your head." Despite the warning, I repeatedly knocked on any out of place protruding parts of the mechanisms and cursed the designers for the small diameter of the hatches that separated the compartments from each other.


The layout of the boat project AB611 with missiles R-11FM. Photos from http://www.e-reading.club

All equipment for the preparation of the launch control was located in a special "missile" compartment. He was very closely lined with consoles and cabinets with marine electronics. Before launching in this compartment must be at battle posts six people. Nearby are the “strong” rocket mines. When the boat emerges and the covers of the mines open, people will be separated from the cold sea only by the metal of these mines.

It is impossible to move to other compartments after a combat alarm. All access hatches are battened down. Combat calculation of the missile compartment is in charge of all the preparations, and the launch itself is carried out from the boat’s central post.

After four hours of the hike, when it began to seem that we were in the underwater cramped and disturbed by our questions, the team followed the ascent.

Korolev, having found me and Finogeev in the torpedo compartment, said that now all three of us should be at the mine, from which the rocket will rise and launch.

Why did he need to demonstrate such courage? If something happens to a rocket while it is still in a mine or even on the upper cut, we are unconditional “Khan”. Why the commander of the boat allowed the Queen to sit at the mine during launch, I still do not understand. Had trouble - the commander did not demolish the head. True, afterwards one submariner said: "Had something, there was no one to ask."

For thirty-minute readiness in the compartments of the boat, the command of the commander passed - “Combat Alarm” and, for fidelity, the signal of the sea howler was still ... Exchanging short phrases, the three of us sat uncomfortably, clinging to the cold metal of the mine. Korolev clearly wanted to "file" himself and his equipment: look, they say, as we believe in the reliability of his missiles.
In the mine, the scraper and rumbled when the "horns and hoofs" were working on the rise (the R-11FM rocket was launched in the surface position from the launch pad, which was raised out of the mine. - Approx.). We tensed waiting for the engine to start. I expected that here the roar of the engine, a jet of flame from which rushed into the mine, even made a frightening impression on us. However, the start was surprisingly quiet.
Everything worked out! The hatches opened, a joyful commander appeared, congratulating him on a successful launch. From the crash site already reported. Now specify the coordinates. Telemetry stations were receiving. According to preliminary data, the flight was normal.

This was the eighth or ninth launch of the P-11 FM from this first missile submarine. After the start-up, the voltage at all immediately subsided. Finogeev, who did not take part in the launches from this boat for the first time, smiling broadly, asked me: “Well, how did you let go?”. “Yes,” I replied, “this, of course, is not allowed from a concrete bunker.”


Training calculation of self-propelled launcher rocket R-11M of the National People's Army of the GDR. Photos from http://militaryrussia.ru

In total, the first in the history of the domestic fleet group of submarine rocket carriers was five submarines of the 611AV project, armed with R-11FM missiles. On land, the P-11 missiles of various modifications were armed with a total of eleven rocket brigades, of which eight brigades had armament complexes with self-propelled launchers.

In addition to the Soviet Union, six more Warsaw Pact countries adopted the R-11M missile: Bulgaria (three missile brigades), Hungary (one missile brigade), GDR (two missile brigades), Poland (four missile brigades), Romania (two missile brigades ) and Czechoslovakia (three rocket brigades). Their versions of the P-11 rocket were produced according to drawings and documents received from the USSR in China, and a number of complexes based on the P-11 were received by the DPRK.


Self-propelled launchers of missiles R-11M of the National People’s Army of the GDR (above) and the Polish Army (below) with national identifying marks. Photos from http://militaryrussia.ru

In service in most countries, these missiles did not last long: in the Soviet Union they were removed from service by the end of the 1960's, in other countries they, for the most part, remained in service until the beginning of the 1970's. The reason for this was not the flaws of the P-11 itself and its modifications, but the appearance of its successor, the Elbrus missile system with the P-17 rocket, which in fact became a deep modernization of its predecessor. After all, work on the upgraded rocket R-11MU began in the spring of 1957, and stopped a year later only because it was decided to develop the P-17 rocket on the same basis. But it was not by chance that Western military observers gave the one and the other the same name Scud, under which the “eleventh” and its heirs went down in history.
Our news channels

Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest news and the most important events of the day.

2 comments
Information
Dear reader, to leave comments on the publication, you must sign in.
  1. +2
    April 25 2017 00: 05
    The sailors were much more far-sighted. They proposed the creation of a new class of ships — submarine missile-carrying ships with unique properties. A submarine armed with torpedoes was intended to strike only at enemy ships. A submarine armed with ballistic missiles became capable of hitting ground targets from the sea thousands of kilometers away from it, remaining invulnerable.

    There is a book about the creation of a new class of ships and the tests of the first missile carriers: A.A. Zapolsky. "Missiles start from the sea." This is just about the R-11FM missiles.
  2. 0
    10 December 2017 02: 29
    Have a submarine what's a revolver launch? Thank you, I didn’t.

"Right Sector" (banned in Russia), "Ukrainian Insurgent Army" (UPA) (banned in Russia), ISIS (banned in Russia), "Jabhat Fatah al-Sham" formerly "Jabhat al-Nusra" (banned in Russia) , Taliban (banned in Russia), Al-Qaeda (banned in Russia), Anti-Corruption Foundation (banned in Russia), Navalny Headquarters (banned in Russia), Facebook (banned in Russia), Instagram (banned in Russia), Meta (banned in Russia), Misanthropic Division (banned in Russia), Azov (banned in Russia), Muslim Brotherhood (banned in Russia), Aum Shinrikyo (banned in Russia), AUE (banned in Russia), UNA-UNSO (banned in Russia), Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People (banned in Russia), Legion “Freedom of Russia” (armed formation, recognized as terrorist in the Russian Federation and banned)

“Non-profit organizations, unregistered public associations or individuals performing the functions of a foreign agent,” as well as media outlets performing the functions of a foreign agent: “Medusa”; "Voice of America"; "Realities"; "Present time"; "Radio Freedom"; Ponomarev; Savitskaya; Markelov; Kamalyagin; Apakhonchich; Makarevich; Dud; Gordon; Zhdanov; Medvedev; Fedorov; "Owl"; "Alliance of Doctors"; "RKK" "Levada Center"; "Memorial"; "Voice"; "Person and law"; "Rain"; "Mediazone"; "Deutsche Welle"; QMS "Caucasian Knot"; "Insider"; "New Newspaper"